Stuck together
by AREYASHI
Summary: Nobody expected Draco Malfoy to wear a hat to dinner in the result of a prank. Harry gets caught in it, and the two boys are stuck together. For a month. HP/DM. PART 2/2 - COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

So, I had this incredible urge to finally write a Harry/Draco fic. So here it is ! Enjoy.

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x x x

People found it unusual that Draco Malfoy wore a hat to dinner. He knew this, of course, because as he sat down at the Slytherin table, people stared at him with genuine curiosity and a few snickers were heard. He must've looked ridiculous, coming from a high class, pure blooded family, and yet strolling into the Great Hall wearing a hat. He had hoped they wouldn't pay attention to etiquette, and tugged on the brim of the hat, pulling it further down.

"Whats with the getup?" Several students surrounding them looked over, obviously wanting to know why the High-and-Mighty Draco Malfoy had decided to hide his head this evening. He glowered at them until they turned their heads the other way.

"None of your business. I can wear a hat, can't I?" He glanced over at Pansy Parkinson, glaring.

She leaned in close to whisper, "take that silly thing off," she couldn't help but giggle as her eyes raised to the hat, "you look stupid."

He shrugged, ignoring her. He knew Potter was getting some kind of kick from this, because Weasley was pointing at him shamelessly and laughing, pointing it out to the Gryffindor students. He shot them a nasty look. Pansy opened her mouth to speak once more, but much to Draco's relief, Dumbledore rose to his feet at the High Table, and the Great Hall fell silent.

"Before we begin our wonderful meal," he began, his eyes twinkling, "I'm sorry to say that a new rule has been passed during meal times."

Draco grew pale when Dumbledore eyed the hat on his head. "A few faculty members have requested that hats may not be worn by students while we are eating," he said apologetically, "there have been a couple incidents where strange things have been hidden in them, brought into the Great Hall, and have caused mischief."

Draco clenched his fists, and he shot a glare at the Weasley twins, not caring if they could see it or not.

Everyone knew that the Weasley twins loved mischief, and Draco didn't know how they got away with it so many times. A couple months ago, they stuffed strange candies in hats they wore, hiding them from the suspicious eye, and brought them into the Great Hall. But when foot-long tongues rolled out of Slytherin mouths, and people found themselves hopping on the tables and chanting embarrassing songs, all fingers pointed to the twins. Of course, they took a bow and admired their work.

"The Great Hall is heated well, so there should be no other reason to be wearing a hat," Dumbledore finished, and looked towards Malfoy. As did the rest of the student body. He was the only student wearing a hat, and everyone had noticed.

He felt his pale cheeks blush pink, and latched his fingers onto the brim of his hat, pulling it firmly onto his head. Dumbledore smiled apologetically, "now, now, Mister Malfoy, rules are rules, please take off your hat." The hat didn't budge, and students began to snicker, looking from the Headmaster to the stubborn Malfoy.

Draco looked over at the Gryffindor table, seeing brilliant green eyes peering at him with curiosity. He wasn't laughing as hard as the others, and seemed genuinely . . . was it concern ? He shook off the thought. Probably just waiting for the big finale.

As expected, Snape had stood up and pulled out his wand, immediately shouting, "_Accio!_" The hat wrenched from Draco's fingers, and betrayed him, shooting over to Snape's grasp. The blond felt the blood drain from his face, and he lowered his head to the table as laughter immediately broke out through the Slytherin table, which was then soon joined by the rest of the tables. Whoever did this to him, they would pay, he swore.

He could hear Pansy laughing, and talking at the same time. He wondered how it was possible to do that without wheezing, and blissfully imagined her passing out from lack of oxygen. "W-what..." a fresh set of giggles stopped her from speaking clearly, "did you do... t-to your," she snorted, "hair!"

He stood up immediately, unsure if he was blushing or if he was pale and clammy, but didn't care. He just had to get out. He almost tripped over his own feet as he sidestepped the giggling students, and snuck a glance over at Potter. Granger and Weasley were laughing their heads off, but Potter, with his brilliant green eyes, untidy dark hair which seemed to fit him well, and thin but firm lips, was only _smiling. _Smiling! He was obviously amused, but he didn't find it hysterical like everyone else seemed to. Confusion blossomed in his chest, before he pushed the giant doors open, and stomped out of the Great Hall, into the nearest, empty bathroom.

* * *

x

* * *

He furiously shoved a comb through his platinum blond locks, knowing it was futile, but never ceasing his violent attacks. This morning, when he smoothed hair gel over his hair, trying for his usual hairstyle, the hair gel did the exact opposite! It had decided to come alive and cause abnormal, large spikes of hair to stick out from his head, as well as dye certain parts strange colors. It wasn't finished, apparently, because it decided to grow the back into what looked like a mullet. He looked absolutely ridiculous. He had green, pink, and blue sections in his hair, which was sticking out at odd and unbalanced, awkward angles, and what looked like a long tail of hair that didn't look attractive at all!

Ceasing his hand movements, he tossed the comb at the wall and held his face in his hands. Nobody would forget this incident, never! And if he could only get his hands on the person who charmed his hair gel ...

He heard a sudden knock on the door, and paled at the thought of someone coming in to laugh at him some more. He pulled out his wand to charm the door with his best locking spell, but was too late. The door squeaked as it opened, and a face popped into view. Draco felt anger and embarrassment boil his blood, and he got to his feet, holding his wand out in front of him.

"What do you want, Potter?" He spat, "came here to laugh at me in private?"

Harry didn't respond, and entered the room quietly, shutting the door behind him. He stepped forward only once, and stared at Draco, his eyes roaming over the ridiculousness that was his hair. The amusement was still apparent, Draco noticed, and the silence was disgustingly annoying. The last person he wanted in here was Potter, the so-called Chosen One, that everyone seemed to favorite and adore and just _swoon _over.

"For fuck's sake! Answer me, Potter!" He snarled, jabbing his wand in the boys direction threateningly, "what do you-"

A sudden thought came to his mind. Potter was the one... who had charmed his hair gel! It had been so obvious, that Draco felt angry with himself for not realizing it before. The way Potter had stared at him in the hall, seemingly waiting for something to happen, and his simple amusement while everyone laughed shamelessly at him. Now he was just watching him silently, driving Malfoy insane.

"You dare do this to me," he growled, ignoring the confusion that lit up Harry's eyes. What an act. "You're a fool for coming here without any backup," he poised his wand ready at him.

"Wait, no, Malfoy I-"

He didn't bother stopping, and fired a hex at him without hesitation. Harry was taken aback, and it took a few seconds before the hex began to take effect. Malfoy stepped back to admire his work, and burst out laughing. Potters dark, unruly hair had grown at an alarming rate, and only stopped when it reached the floor. His skin was covered in large, angry warts, and his two front teeth became larger than the rest.

"Y-you.. look," he felt tears brim his eyes, as he struggled to talk between his fit of giggles, "you look so ..!" He didn't need to finish, because Harry had looked into the mirror behind Draco and shrieked. Draco was soon knocked to the floor, and he felt a blow to his face a couple times before Potter had begun tugging on Draco's stupid multi-colored locks.

"Ouch! Let go, Potter!" He blindly waved his arms around, smacking Harry's wart-covered face a couple times before stopping in disgust.

They must've made quite a ruckus because Professor McGonagall had burst into the room, along with Severus Snape and a few other faculty members Draco was too distracted to notice.

"Enough!" Professor McGonagall thundered, and the two boys immediately froze. "Stand up, both of you." They shoved away from each other, standing in front of the two most feared professors in Hogwarts. It got even worse, when they saw the rest of the student body standing right outside the bathroom doors, peering in and giggling when they caught sight of the two of them.

"My office, now," McGonagall said, her lips forming a tight, thin line, before she stormed out of the bathroom. Professor Snape eyed them with an amused expression on his face, before following her soon after. Draco noticed Harry tense, and knew they both had to walk out of the room, into public eye, looking like this. Not to mention they were in for one heck of a punishment.

* * *

x

* * *

The two boys had managed to get into McGonagalls office, bearing the laughter. Potters cheeks had reddened but it was hard to tell under all those irritated warts, and Draco's normally pale complexion had burned so much, he was sure they were red. They now sat in front of McGonagalls desk, silent in anxiety to get this over with.

The Professor herself, was sitting across from them, staring in what appeared to be a very pinched, distraught expression. "I am very, very disappointed in the both of you. Especially you, Potter." Draco felt himself grin, but it soon left his lips when she turned her attention on him, "you shouldn't be smiling, Mister Malfoy. You look just as ridiculous as he. Why, may I ask, did you hex Mister Potter?" He saw her eyes leave his face for a moment to stare at his hair again, as if she hadn't had enough.

"Because it was obviously him who did this to me!" He said angrily, pointing to his hair.

"I did not!"

"Of course you did, Potter! Don't lie to me!"

"Silence!" McGonagall shouted, rubbing her temples. "I don't care who started this, or what happened, but you two are going to be punished." They sat in an awkward silence as she began to read a parchment on her desk. "You two will have detention for a month, together, writing lines and running any errands that may pop up." Draco didn't think it was that bad, but it was probably because they had already looked so horrible. "And, twenty points from both houses."

She looked at them, "Mister Filch wants help polishing the trophies in the trophy room, go there now."

The two, grimacing at the thought of being together, and with Filch, stood up and turned to leave. Draco glowered at the ridiculous looking boy, suppressing laughter.

"Oh and boys. You will not be allowed to use magic while doing any of the errands given to you. Detention and the chores will be your top priority, if Quidditch practice is at the same time, you will not go to Quidditch, you will go to detention, or sweep the floors with muggle tools."

Draco felt his chest tighten in disappointment, but said nothing as the two of them left the office.

"Malfoy, listen-" Potter said finally, breaking the silence.

"Don't speak to me, Potter. This'll be much better if I don't have to hear your voice," he muttered roughly. He didn't dare look at Harry's expression, and continued walking down the hall, barking a "shut up!" to the students that passed by them, giggling wildly.

This was going to be a long month.

x x x

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**Part 1/2**


	2. Chapter 2

I was just so anxious to finish this, that it took me all day to write, proof-read, and get it edited by my sister. I hope you enjoy!

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x x x

So far, they had spent long hours polishing trophies until they shined brighter than the moon, and were to serve drunks at The Hog's Head once a week (mainly because the filthy place was low on help, which didn't surprise Draco), and had taken care of Hagrid's monsters (Hagrid insisted they were charming creatures.) The detentions weren't as bad, but terribly boring and Draco had fun messing with the dark haired boy as they wrote lines. The two of them had missed many Quidditch practices, and while Draco wasn't worried about getting booted off, Harry was growing more and more anxious.

"Wood is pretending it's okay that I'm missing practice," Harry muttered as they walked down to their usual detention room, "he might not boot me off, since I'm their Seeker, but missing practice is really bringing me down."

Draco glanced at him from the corner of his eye, watching him fiddle with his sleeve and stare at the floor, "I don't know why you're telling me this, Potter." Harry's hair had finally stopped growing down to the floor every time it was snipped off, and the warts disappeared, as well as the buckteeth. Much to Draco's dismay, he didn't have any reason to laugh at the boys appearance, besides his ridiculous glasses. "After all, why would they boot off the Boy-Who-Lived?"

"Shut up, Malfoy. You bought your way on the team, of course you're not worried they'd kick you off," Harry probably intended to insult him, but just made himself sound somewhat jealous that Malfoy had a secure spot on his team.

He shrugged in response, running his hand through his hair. He had stopped using hair gel ever since that incident, and thankfully, the effects wore off after a couple days. His platinum locks were now free of spikes, one color, and didn't have a tail sprouting from the back. Draco found it annoying when a gust of wind appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and messed it up. He didn't trust hair products anymore.

He turned to glare at Harry, who was still looking worried about his spot as a Seeker, and was too distracted to notice.

They strolled into the empty classroom, and found two rolls of parchment and their writing equipment already there, waiting for them. Professor McGonagall had left a note telling them what their lines were, and the two immediately sat down and got to work.

_I will not behave like a fool and prank __other students__, __I will not behave like a fool and prank other students, I will not behave like a fool and prank other students -_

Draco found his hand cramping after awhile, and took a break, stretching and fumbling with his platinum bangs. He didn't understand how Potter could have his hair in his face like that all the time. He watched Harry's back for a moment, which was currently slumped over his desk, having never ceased writing. Sighing, Draco finally continued writing, wishing he could charm his quill into writing the lines for him, but their wands were currently in McGonagall's hands.

Every now and then, Harry raised his head from _scratch, scratch, scratch-ing _and stared out the window at his Quidditch team, who were practicing hard.

When Harry didn't lower his head down after a few moments, Draco grew annoyed. Potter couldn't love Quidditch _that_ much, could he? It was plain stupid, falling in love with a sport. The only reason Draco had joined the team was to beat him, and prove that he, and the Slytherin house were better. As his annoyance grew by every passing second, his mind raced to find ways to get revenge and annoy Harry back.

He began to tap the tip of his quill, loudly, onto his parchment, pretending to be taking a break from writing. He made sure the tip was dry of ink, or else McGonagall would wonder why there were dots scattered all over it. He raised his eyes to Potter, expecting him to be glaring at him, but the git was still gazing out the window, not even noticing him. Draco huffed, and ceased his actions.

"Hey, Potter. You're drooling." He sneered, satisfied to see the boy snap out of his dream-like state and look over at him.

"What?" Came his snappy reply.

"You're drooling, it's disgusting."

Potter immediately raised his hand to his mouth, but glared fiercely after realizing Draco was lying. He turned back to his desk to continue scratching words onto the parchment, and never looked out the window again during the rest of the detention session.

* * *

x

* * *

They continued like this for two more weeks, getting used to being called into Professor McGonagall's office (at least once every other day) to learn that someone else needed a chore to be done. Draco's hand was getting sore and weary from writing out so many lines, but at least he noticed his penmanship getting better. He continued to pick on Potter every chance he got, and students still snickered every time they saw him, fueling his hate for the boy.

Working at The Hog's Head was something he and Harry never looked forward into doing, mainly because everyone there was drunk and stupid, fights started every five seconds, and the place was filthy and smelled terrible. He had no idea McGonagall could be so cruel, and never forgot to wash his hands three times as soon as he stepped out of the place. Harry didn't seem to complain as much as he did, but did curse loudly every time he accidentally brushed past one of the grime covered windows and got some of it on himself.

Today, in particular, Harry was in a bad mood, having been told he couldn't skip out one day of working at The Hog's Head to practice some Quidditch. An already too-drunk man was ordering more and more alcoholic beverages, despite Harry's warnings that he was going over the limit.

Harry brushed past Draco, mumbling to himself and placing more drinks on his tray. Malfoy sighed, "just tell the guy he can't have anymore, idiot. Do you enjoy torturing yourself?"

Green eyes flashed to his, and Draco watched as a strange smile reached his lips. Turning back to the variety of drinks before him, Potter pulled out a bottle of juice, replacing the Firewhiskey, and strolled off towards the table again. Other workers didn't pay attention, swerving past Draco with trays full of empty and full bottles.

"What is th..this? I didn't... order this!" The man slurred, he had taken a large gulp of it and spluttered, as if it was the most horrid thing he had ever put in his mouth. He looked at Harry with a confused expression and held the bottle back up, his arm swerving around awkwardly, "take this .... back, boy.. ahh.. I told you I wan.. wanted ... another bottle of Firewhiskey!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but rules are rules and you have gone over the limit, please come back again tomorrow," Harry said firmly, "you're going to have to pay for the juice as well, since you have already taken a sip from it."

Watching the scene while setting down drinks for other customers, Draco thought Harry was either incredibly brave, or stupid, possibly both. Angering a drunken wizard wasn't the wisest of things to do, especially when they didn't have their wands on them. By now, half of the bar had turned their attention on the two as well, watching with curiosity. Some, however, were too drunk to notice anything was going on.

Draco made a face when he noticed the man appeared to be fat, lazy, and obviously an alcoholic. His hair didn't appear to be brushed, or even washed, and his wrinkly, foul smelling clothes were of middle class. The man, bewildered, drunk and angry, had stumbled to his feet, and pulled out his wand, pointing it right at Harry, "get me ano..another Firewhiskey, boy! Ahm warnin' youh..!"

Potter didn't budge, looking the man straight in the eye with bravery Draco had seen many times before. He turned around sharply, "I'll go fetch your bill, the juice is worth seven sickles, by the way." And with that, he began walking back to the counter.

The mans face screwed up in what looked like astonishment, and he opened his mouth, preparing to cast a spell. It was a good thing he was drunk, however, because he was too slow to think of a good one in time.

"I'll have you know that my father's power can out rule any wizards," Draco said, finding himself standing in between the mans wand and Harry. "Would he, do you think, like to hear that his son, Draco Malfoy, has been harmed by a drunken idiot?" He smirked, watching the red tinted cheeks fade, just a little bit.

"Ah wazzunt goin' tah harm.. youuh, boy. Just th..that," he awkwardly jabbed his wand in the air, pointing past him at Potter, "that ... one there.."

"You were intending to hurt the Boy-Who-Lived?" He felt his smirk widen when the mans pink face had suddenly turned very white, "see for yourself if you think you can destroy someone that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was unable to. I'm sure you've heard of Harry Potter."

He reached behind him and pulled the boy himself up, brushing his bangs aside and showcasing the lightning shaped scar. Muffled gasps were heard throughout the bar, and when Draco was sure the man had got a good look, he released the boy.

Potter was speechless, he kept looking from Malfoy, to the man, who had, incidentally, dropped to his knees and begged for forgiveness. His mouth wouldn't stop opening and closing in shock, and he didn't even protest when Draco grabbed the bill from his fingers, and shoved it in front of the mans face. He quietly sauntered off towards the people who signaled him for more drinks, but glanced back at the two frequently.

"Ahm s..sorry, Mister Potter... sir.. didn't mean no harm.." He wobbled to his feet, and quickly paid the full amount without anymore complaints.

Harry's fingers closed around the money the man shoved into his hand, and watched him hurry out of The Hog's Head. He returned to the counter, putting the money away and filling more orders, as if nothing had taken place just a few minutes ago. Chatter filled the bar again, but it was obvious they were speaking about the two waiters who had served them countless times. Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, and Harry Potter, the boy who had survived the most feared and powerful dark wizard of all time.

Malfoy was pleased the people had began speaking to them more respectfully, and was extremely satisfied when they addressed him as "Mister Malfoy" instead of "waiter boy." Normally, he would stick his nose high in the air and march around importantly, but he was too pissed to do any of that.

Why the hell had he just _protected _Harry Potter? He could've just sat back, and watched, laughing, as the man hexed Harry and made him look ridiculous again. He furrowed his eye brows. Must've been because Professor McGonagall would've punished him more for not protecting the stupid git. It was Harry's fault in the first place! And if Potter wanted, he could lie, and say that Draco had hexed him again, and he would've gotten in much more trouble.

They didn't speak for the rest of the shift, and Draco had carefully avoided Potters eyes and company, leaving the bar as soon as they were finished.

He didn't want Potter to question him, because he didn't have any answers himself.

* * *

x

* * *

Snape's potions class was thankfully, normal. Draco had gotten over the incident at the bar slightly, and was back to picking on his favorite targets : Neville Longbottom, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and most of all, Harry Potter. It was easy, being Snape's favorite student, when others were punished easily for retaliating. Half way through the class, Gryffindor was already down by at least twenty five points.

They were instructed to brew a Babbling Beverage, and of course, Granger shot her hand up at every question asked, and was undoubtedly ignored. Draco ceased to wonder why she enjoyed looking like she knew everything in the world, as it was extremely annoying. Neville, of course, made the worst potion. It was moving around in his cauldron, bubbling furiously and was an odd, murky purple color. Snape took one look at it, wrinkled his nose, and wrote down a few things.

"As you can see," Snape said, appearing beside Draco's cauldron. "It's simmering as it should, and is a perfect, transparent blue." He shot a look to Longbottom, "If you can't make a simple Babbling Beverage, I'm afraid you're quite the idiot."

Draco smirked proudly, but it quickly faded when he heard snickering from other students. "I'm sure someone here is doing something right, Professor. Charming hair gel can be quite a ... sticky mess," he heard Weasley say.

Snape raised an eyebrow, somewhat amused, when another student spoke up.

"You've seen it on Malfoy, Professor. Was it a concoction, or a charm? We're dying to know what would've caused such a thing." Giggles arose, remembering the day Draco tried very hard to forget.

The blond turned sharply to glare furiously at Potter, who wasn't giggling, but stirring his potion. What an act to look innocent! He rose from his chair, ignoring Snape's voice call out to him, and stomped over to Harry's station. Ron looked up at him, grinning with amusement, but Draco glowered only at Harry.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" He looked up at him, and Draco clenched his fists angrily.

"Look what you've done! Everyone's laughing at me because of your stupid prank!" He muttered through clenched teeth. "The so-called best, and kindest, most favored student in the entire bloody school, had resorted to pranking. How original!"

"Harry hasn't done anything!" Weasley said, standing up and glaring full force at him.

"Shut up, Weasley! This has nothing to do with you!"

Harry spoke up, agitated, "if you could just clean your ears and stop shouting at me, maybe then you'd-"

Snape interrupted, pushing Draco back to his station, "that's quite enough, Mister Potter. Ten more points from Gryffindor, and you will be staying behind to clean out these cauldrons."

The class ended soon after. A couple of Gryffindor students groaned in disbelief, frowning at Snape. Ron tried to protest, but was kicked in the shin by Hermione, and the two of them turned to make a nasty face at Malfoy. He, of course, smirked back and started packing up his books. Potter seemed very angry, but remained silent and stayed seated as the rest of the class clambered out.

That should show him, Draco thought, satisfied that Harry was receiving extra punishment.

* * *

x

* * *

He found himself sitting at one of the tables in the library, surrounded by books and ignoring Pansy, who was whispering extremely fast in his ear. He had been researching salamanders, against his will, of course. Hagrid wanted them to take care of his precious little salamanders, while he was out in town on an errand for Dumbledore. Draco didn't want to end up in another accident if Hagrid didn't explain how to care for them properly.

"-And that Granger girl, I think she likes Weasley! Have you seen them apart, ever? I think it suits them well, though. Weasley's family is as low as a mud blood one, and I'm sure his father would approve of him dating such filth. He'd probably.." She chattered on, not noticing, or possibly not even caring, that Draco wasn't listening.

He reached for another book, finding his current one, "How to breed Salamanders," useless. Placing it aside, and reaching for a book on top of the book pile, he stopped when he noticed another book beside it, alone and obviously forgotten. He raised an eyebrow, picking it up and reading the cover, "Funny pranks for the young wizard."

Amused, he flipped it open and began looking through the different ways to prank, immediately imagining himself performing the tasks on a certain, green eyed boy. He looked through the book, grinning at some of the pages, when he suddenly came to a stop.

"A hair product replacement for the hair obsessed! : Know someone who uses hair products excessively? Well this is the prank for you!"

His already pale skin, paled even more as his eyes ran across the page, looking through the instructions and what ingredients were to be put in for the desired results. Half of these ingredients were available at Hogwarts, and he couldn't imagine what he would've looked like if _all_ the ingredients were used. Quickly turning back to the front page, he read the card which listed every student who had taken out the book, expecting to see 'Harry Potter' written at the end of it.

His eyes widened as they came across the name, and he set the book down.

Neville Longbottom.

It was that stupid, useless boy all along. The one who never got things right, and that Draco loved to laugh at and tease. He didn't think Longbottom was at all capable of achieving something sneaky, but of course, since he was able to find out about it, he didn't do a very good job covering up his tracks. His eyebrows furrowed, why hadn't Potter said anything? Why did he make it so obvious that it was he who performed the prank?

Standing up, Draco hurried out of the library, desperate to get away from Pansy and confront Potter. It was almost six o'clock, which meant that they were both expected to be at Hagrid's pathetic little shack. Neville Longbottom's punishment would come later.

* * *

x

* * *

Harry looked up from whatever he was doing when Malfoy suddenly burst through Hagrid's door, out of breath, his hair ruffled. He had raised his arm and was pointing wordlessly at Potter, panting. It was obvious he had ran there.

"You're late, Malfoy," Harry muttered, standing up and holding a glass tank of salamanders. "Hagrid was-"

"Why," Draco interrupted, breathing deeply, "didn't you say anything?"

Potter tilted his head to the side, "what?"

"The prank, you-" the blond moved and rested his hand on Hagrid's table, but then pulled back when he realized what might've been on it. "You didn't say anything. It wasn't you," he said, wiping his hand on his sweater, disgusted he actually _touched_ something in Hagrid's 'house.'

The green eyed wizard frowned at him, "I tried! But you wouldn't shut up, and you never believed me when I tried to explain that I had no idea!"

Draco watched him set the salamander tank down on a shelf and pull out a package, "but you acted so guilty! When everyone else was laughing hysterically in the Great Hall, you were just staring at me, smiling! And you came afterwards to the bathroom, alone, and you weren't laughing at all. You just stood there! What did you expect me to think, Potter?" He spat, crossing his arms over his chest.

Harry turned to him, silent for a moment, "I was smiling because I thought it was amusing, and I've never seen you blush before, it was...." He trailed off, before continuing, "and I came to the bathroom because I wanted to see if you were okay, like, you know, not about to kill yourself or anyone in your way."

Malfoy scoffed at the idea of committing suicide out of embarrassment, then stared at him, "it was what?"

Potter had turned to the tank, murmuring a, "hmm?" He pulled a couple of, what looked like mint leaves, out of the package and dropped them into the glass box. Draco watched the salamanders gobble them up greedily, before he returned his gaze to Potter.

"You said you never saw me blush before, but you never finished your sentence. It was what?"

Ugly? Strange? Out of character? Draco felt the corner of his lips twitch. Did Potter think he was cute?

Harry paused, his cheeks pinkening slightly, before he dropped a couple more leaves into the glass salamander tank and set the package aside. He wiped his hands together as if there were anything on them, then moved to sit down at Hagrid's table, silent.

Draco frowned, irritated, "well? Are you going to tell me or what?"

"Look, all that matters is that I didn't do it, how did you find out?" He smoothly dodged the question, leaning back into the chair and resting his arms on the old wooded table.

"I found the prank book and Neville's name was on the card," he found himself sitting down too, carefully inspecting the chair and the table before letting it get in contact with him, "now tell me, it was what?" He found it annoying he had to repeat himself, and glowered at the boy before him.

"Not important!" Harry looked agitated that Draco wouldn't drop it, and that pleased him.

"Did you tell your little mud blood friend and that Weasley?" He inquired, smirking when Potter's eyes narrowed.

"No, I didn't. And don't call Hermione that, she's smarter and more of a person than you'll ever be."

The blond felt a spark of rage within him at being compared to a mud blood, and clenched his jaw tightly, "if it's not important, why didn't you tell them? You tell those two everything."

"Why is it so important to _you_?" Potter questioned, appearing genuinely curious, and brought his hands up to rest his face on them, "why do you care so much about what I think?"

A heavy silence fell inside the cabin, and the two never averted their eyes from each other. Draco was lost in his own thoughts, questioning himself. Why _did _he care so much about it? He had no idea, and instead, answered simply, "because I'm bored."

Harry, who had been watching the blond intently, frowned, "well that's probably because you missed the fun part," his voice dripped with sarcasm.

Draco leaned forward, ignoring his comment, "out with it, Potter. Finish what you started."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when the door burst open again, revealing his two best friends. They shot Draco a look, and he glared back with just as much hatred in his eyes.

"We wanted to make sure you were alright," Granger said, "and not being bullied by this cockroach."

Malfoy coughed behind her, muttering a silent "mud blood." They ignored it.

"Uh.. yeah, I'm fine. I've been doing chores for a couple weeks now, and nothing's happened," Harry said, looking at his friends, confused at their sudden concern.

"Well, I hope you return to the Quidditch team soon, Harry. We've got to get you some more practice before you get all rusty," Ron said, and Harry's eyebrow twitched.

"Yeah.. I know," he said, looking at his hands. Draco had never seen him look so disappointed.

"It's not like you could help it, though," Hermione said quickly, "if you weren't hexed by some weasel, you-"

"Shut up," Malfoy said suddenly, "and get out, would you? Potter and I were talking, before you so _rudely_ interrupted, there's no point in making him feel bad when he already knows." He didn't know what had come over him, but he felt the need to wipe that expression off of Potter's face.

"Who are you to talk, Malfoy?" Ron said, "If it weren't for you, none of this would have happened! You're just jealous that Harry's better than you are, and you're the one who takes pleasure in making people miserable, just like your father! You two are an awful bunch of-"

"Don't say a damn thing about my father, Weasley," he threatened, "and for fuck's sake, leave before I tell Professor McGonagall that you two are visiting, she wouldn't like you interrupting our chores." He watched them step back slowly, and give Harry a small pat on the shoulder before leaving without another word.

He turned back to Potter, still smirking. The boy was staring right at him, his green eyes flickering with what looked like confusion. Or was he weary? He couldn't tell. The salamanders began to make odd, gurgling noises, and Harry turned towards the glass box, getting up to check. Draco thought it was the oddest sound, and wondered what kind of salamanders they were, and why Hagrid had them. But then again, Hagrid kept a lot of creatures he thought were 'precious.'

Draco leaned back into his chair, wondering what he considered to be precious.

* * *

x

* * *

Hagrid had returned to his cabin soon after, clapping Harry on the shoulder when he found his salamanders were perfectly fine and that Harry had cared for them correctly. Draco only received a short nod in his direction, and it was not like he expected a warmer welcome. He would be lying if he said he _liked _the hairy man. Harry grabbed his bag, slung it over his shoulder, and the two left quietly, except for the sounds Harry made while munching loudly on something Hagrid had given him.

"What on earth is that?" Draco murmured, peering over at it and wrinkling his nose.

"Mmh.. rock cake," he said, "it's not particularly delicious, but Hagrid was kind enough to give me something to eat." The loud crunching noises he made when he bit down on it made the name of the food obvious, and Draco didn't question it further.

Harry finished his snack, and the walk back to the castle grew quiet, except for the occasional yawn from Malfoy. He was tired, and wanted to plan his revenge on Neville before going to sleep. His thoughts filled with different ways to prank him, and he thought of going back into the library to get that book...

"Why did you defend me?" Harry said suddenly, breaking the silence.

"What?" The question was so out of nowhere, and Draco didn't have time to think about what he meant.

"At The Hogs Head, when that drunk was going to cast a spell on me, and today, too. You weren't exactly defending me, but you didn't want my friends talking about Quidditch, either. You," He looked at him, "knew it was ... uncomfortable for me. Why did you stop them?"

Draco gritted his teeth, cursing inwardly. He didn't want to answer Potter's questions, and his mind raced to figure out ways of escaping, but found none realistic enough to work. The stupid git would probably tell all his friends in Gryffindor that the high and mighty Draco Malfoy had defended him. Twice. He could imagine it now – the Witch's Weekly headline : Draco Malfoy isn't as hateful as he seems. Oh, those girls would absolutely love that. Just perfect. He shuddered at the thought of girls worshipping him like they did Potter. The last thing he wanted was love potion laced chocolates sent to his room every half hour.

His ice blue eyes clashed with green briefly, when he realized Potter had been waiting for some time now for his answer.

"I don't really know," he answered finally, "but that drunk pissed me off, okay? That's all. And with your friends, I didn't like the expression you were making." He shoved his hand in his pocket, hoping Potter wouldn't try to pry more of an answer out of him.

To his surprise, a smile lit up the idiots face, "that's all I wanted to know," he said simply.

The two of them had reached the castle finally, and the sound of their shoes against the marbled floors echoed in the empty hallways. Luckily, none of the Professors were anywhere in sight, and they could manage to make it back to their common rooms without being interrogated. Breaking the peace, Draco heard a voice behind them. Turning around, the voice was coming from around the corner. He panicked. It sounded like Filch, and if they didn't disappear soon, they would get into more trouble despite their perfectly reasonable excuse.

Preparing to make a break for it, he was suddenly grabbed by the wrist, and felt Potter throw something over them. It was silky, and soft, and Malfoy didn't know how this would protect them.

"Hush, if you don't many any noise, we'll be okay," Harry whispered, and Draco almost jumped when he realized Potter's voice was far too close to his ear.

"Potter, what the fuck is this-"

"Shut up," he warned quietly, slipping his hand over Draco's mouth when Filch came into view. He held his breath, letting it out slowly when it appeared the hateful man didn't see them. This must've been an invisibility cloak. How in the world had Potter gotten a hold of it?

"Stupid kids, thinking they can sneak out under my watch!" They watched him mutter to himself, looking around as if expecting students would be hiding in every corner.

He lurked very slowly past them. Draco thought every one of his breaths were louder than they actually were, and finally, Filch disappeared behind the corner and his foot steps faded away. When they figured he would be too far to hear them, the two let out a sigh of relief.

"That was close," Draco muttered, and turned to Harry. They were extremely close, he realized, when two huge green eyes stared back at him.

"Yeah, good thing I brought this with me," he replied, still whispering. He seemed to notice the lack of personal space too, because Draco saw his cheeks redden slightly. They both hadn't moved out from under the cloak, and Draco thought that they were both just too cautious, worried that Filch would come back any second now. His eyes trailed down Potters face, thinking that without the glasses, his eyes would be a much brighter green, and if he blushed more often, Draco could mistake him for a girl.

He hadn't realized he was leaning so close, because when he heard Potter's gasp of surprise, he found his lips on the boys cheek, but they weren't kissing the skin, they were just there. Potter's skin was warm against his, and he wondered how he ended up pressed against his enemy. He had a clear view of his ear, and his dark hair that was messy and yet still suited him. It looked soft.

"You still haven't told me, you know," he breathed, his lips moving against the soft skin of Potter's cheek. He felt satisfied when the boy shuddered, "me blushing. What was it exactly?"

Draco didn't know what he was doing, or why he was doing it, but it seemed to be working, because Harry was so tense and he could feel his mouth opening and closing against his own cheek. Draco smirked against the boys face, it was almost like he was nuzzling him. But he wasn't. "Well?"

He had to admit, being so close to him wasn't that bad. He thought Potter would've smelled terrible and his unruly hair would've been that way because of lack of care. But he was warm, and didn't smell terrible at all. He was tempted to reach behind the boy and grab a fistful of his hair, just to see if it was as soft as it looked.

"I thought it was.." He heard the boy whisper, then gulp, "endearing... um.." Draco's lips parted in surprise, and Harry continued, "c-cute."

Draco's eyes widened at the response, half expecting it. He thought maybe Harry would've said it was ugly, or something he didn't think Draco Malfoy would do, because maybe Harry thought he wasn't human enough to. The thought that he would've found it cute only crossed his mind once, and he felt his cheeks betray him and burn again. Harry must've felt it, because he pulled away enough to peer at his face.

He watched a smile spread across Potter's lips, and glared at him, feeling a flutter in his chest, "why are you grinning like that for? You look stupid."

"Because you're blushing again, and," those vivid green eyes were smiling at him, too! "you look... cute."

Before he realized what was happening, he was pulling away sharply, becoming visible to anyone who would walk into the hallway, and marched away. He didn't care if he got caught by Filch right now, he just had to cool off. His cheeks were still burning red, he could feel it, and he reached up and touched a finger to his lips, cursing.

He had just _kissed _Harry Potter! _Kissed him! _He had just kissed his arch nemesis and -

A smile broke over his face.

Maybe the rest of the month wasn't going to be so bad.

**fin.**

x x x**

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**Finished. I hope you enjoyed reading, and please let me know by reviewing! I'd greatly appreciate it.


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